Promise of a Lifetime
by Extrinsical
Summary: The child was crying, tiny fists rubbing at the eyes. A picture frame lay on the floor next to him. Drabble. Hints of pairing. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

Just...something that came to mind, one and a half hour ago. Enjoy.

一

_**Promise of a Lifetime**  
_

一

She watched.

The child was crying, tiny fists rubbing at the eyes. A picture frame lay on the floor next to him.

She didn't need to look at it to know what photo was in there.

"What's wrong?" She murmured, sweeping him off the ground and into her embrace. Her other hand picked up the frame, and placed it on the table.

She pried his small hands away gently, and wiped the tears from his face.

"Don't poke your fingers into your eyes," she chided half-heartedly.

He blinked away tears and stared at her with big green eyes, his small hands now fisting on her sleeves.

Those sea-green eyes were so full of loneliness.

Sadness washed over her.

"Aunt Ino," he said quietly, looking down.

"Yes?"

"Where's...mama and papa?"

She felt herself stiffen.

Then his head shot up, staring at her with impossibly big green eyes, a hint of blue behind it, bright with tears again.

"I want to see them..." he said childishly.

She ran a hand through his soft blond hair quietly, not knowing how to reply; his small head rested on her shoulder.

"Do they hate me?" He asked again. He sounded too calm, too controlled for a child.

Her hand froze.

"Of course not!" She answered him instantly, almost by reflex.

"Then...why won't they see me?"

She had no reply for that.

The child laughed, sadly.

"It's true, then...they hate me."

His voice had grown thick. He was holding back the urge to cry again.

"They love you." She said firmly, her embrace on him tightening protectively. "They had just...went on a journey, little one. That's all."

"A journey?" His sob-muffled voice was innocent, almost hopeful. His parents didn't hate him!

"A very long journey," she whispered, heart constricting.

He rebounded so easily, voice cheery. "So that explains why I never see them anymore!"

Then he wrapped his small hands around her neck, his voice sobering almost immediately.

"But Aunt Ino, why are you so sad?"

Already he wanted to comfort her, for whatever she seemed sad for.

"I seem sad to you?" She murmured, her hold on him tightening a little.

He unwound his arm from her neck, staring up at her with those eyes again.

"Every time you are sad, Aunt Ino, your brow get scrunchy, like this," he demonstrated by scrunching his eyes shut, purposely pressing his fingers to his eyebrows and pushed downward, and a comical frown formed on his face.

She managed a laugh this time, shaking her head. Her eyes softened.

"That looks more like your papa when he's sulking after your mama hits him on the head. And it's eyebrow, not brow," she waggled a finger at him.

He harrumphed at the mild correction, and then cocked his head to a side. Not deterred, it seems.

"So why are you so sad, Aunt Ino?"

"Hmm," she stroked his head. "I guess it has...something to do with two friends I can't see even if I want to?"

"Who?" He asked curiously.

"One is my best friend, and the other is her...lover. They - "

He pumped a fist into the air, interrupting. "All right! I will find them and bring them here!"

She chuckled again, softly. "It won't work. They are both too stubborn for their own good."

"I will beat them and drag them here!"

She laughed again, and teased. "And how, pray tell, are you going to do that? They are way too strong for you to beat them into submission."

His eyebrows furrowed, and he frowned. He folded his arms, and started to think.

Something wrenched deep in her chest again. God, he looks so similar to _him_...

"I know!" He brightened, green eyes rounding on her. "I will just train harder and be the best ninja ever!"

Her breath caught in her throat.

"Hokage! I will be the hokage!"

"Sure you can do it?" She murmured teasingly, head coming closer, touching his forehead with hers.

He gave her a determined look. A determined look she knew all too well. She knew a girl and a boy who wore that expression before.

"Promise of a lifetime," he declared.

That was it.

A tear escaped from her eye, splattering on his small hand.

He blinked up at her, eyes wide and confused.

"Aunt Ino?"

He wrapped his arms around her neck again. "Don't cry, Aunt Ino. I will keep the promise! I definitely will!"

"I'm sure you will," she whispered.

She hugged him tightly.

_I'm sure you will._

一


	2. Chapter 2

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_**Promise of a Lifetime**  
--- A Naruto Fanfiction, brought to you by Eagle8819_

_Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. Characters used copyright to respective owners._

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"He will be fine. Since when were you such a worrywart?"

Said worrywart bristled.

"You can't hold that against me!" He protested indignantly.

"Sure, sure."

He sighed. "Okay, go ahead and laugh."

She burst into a fit of laughter.

He sulked.

"You are so cute," she cooed.

He shifted warily.

"Well," she poked his forehead with a finger, "I'm not at all worried. She will take care of him. I know she will."

He grasped her hand. She didn't resist.

"She may seem a little...bitchy, I guess. But - "

He interrupted with a snort.

"Okay, fine, she is - but I know she's a pure softie at heart. She will handle that little devil with care."

She paused.

"You know, actually, I'm more worried for her sanity."

He chuckled. "I suppose so."

She arched an eyebrow. "I wonder where he got that prankster trait from?"

"He learns from the best," he sniffed dramatically.

She smacked him on the arm.

"Ow!"

"Baby, you. As if that could - "

His head shot forward, and captured her lips with his.

Her remark was lost, his arm sneaking around her waist as her hands went up to his neck.

It was only the lack of air that made them part.

"Ready?" she whispered.

A wide grin grew on his lips.

Summer blue locked onto milk green.

"Let's go get that bastard."

"And then?" She asked softly, caressing whisker-scarred face gently.

"We come back. With the complete set of Team Seven."

"The three-man team," she whispered.

"Three-man team," he echoed.

She smiled.

He smiled.

"Let's go. Don't want to leave that kid alone with Ino too long now, do we? She will go crazy."

A giggle.

"...You did not just giggle, did you?" She asked him suspiciously.

"Hm?"

Her eyebrow twitched. He was a passable actor when he wants to be.

"You are a boy. Boys do not giggle," she deadpanned. "And I certainly wasn't giggling just now."

"For a second there, love, I thought you were Neji."

It was her turn to bristle.

He smirked, and brought her close again.

Whatever retort that was at the tip of her tongue was stopped short.

A sharp intake of breath came from her.

"I'm not a boy," he murmured, his nose touching hers.

Arms tightened around her posessively.

"I'm a man."

His lips descended on hers hard, this time around.

When they parted, she was breathless.

But she managed a tease, still.

"And how sure are you about that?"

He frowned.

She gave him an innocent smile.

Then he grinned.

Her smile vanished.

It was a lewd grin.

She almost backed away when he closed in on her again, his summer eyes seemingly darker.

He nibbled on her ear.

A shiver ran down her spine.

"When we drag that bastard out of there," he whispered into her ear, "I will show you all the proof we need."

Then he moved away, but kept her in his strong arms.

A hint of red reached her cheeks. She could feel his eyes on her, stripping her bare even as she stared at his neck, not quite willing to meet his gaze.

"Fine," she mumbled into the crook of his neck.

And into the den of the bastard they went.

----

...Aaaaaand, that's it! No more. Nada. Zip. Zero. Zilch. XD

To be honest, I had been content to leave the drabble as it was, without an additional chapter two. But an idea came again. And I, of course, fail to defend myself against it. One thing that helped in my loss against it is contributed by four reviews, all of which expressed similar interests in knowing what happened to our anoymous couple - who, of course, I shall not reveal. Four reviews asking the same thing, plus an idea that popped up, plus some...er, euphoria that my finals had finally ended - I'm sad to say my struggle to resist the urge to write had failed.

If you haven't figured it out who's the couple by now, something is seriously wrong with you.

But anyway. This is it. This is as far as I'm willing to go, and whatever happens to the mysterious couple will remain a mystery. And so will the identity of this "bastard". It's not hard to figure out who's the bastard, but I'm still not telling.

As for the name of the kid? Well...I actually had no idea what to put for the name. So no name. XP

And my reference to Neji? Neji is somesort like your typical rigid, all-formalities-guy. Her comment on the giggle speaks true for itself; Neji is possibly one fo the most rigid guy ever in the Naruto fandom, and I don't think he will ever accept the fact a guy could, or would, giggle.

Consider the fic complete...er, re-completed. Unless another idea decided to pop up. But I doubt it. I think it looks good as it is, and pushing it may ruin the mood - though I suppose it's been changed already. Later, when I'm not so lazy, I will give it a recheck for grammatical errors and the sort. I'm pretty sure I spotted some, though I can't seem to find them anymore. I think it's the exams. Exams makes people forget everything.

I am, however, willing to admit that what lead me to the scene of Ino and the kid was the idea of the couple dead and leaving the child behind. Somewhere along the road, it got...twisted, and so, rather than showing the couple's dead, it looked more like unknown or a mystery.

And now I suppose what happened to the couple is crystal, hm?

Well, not quite, but obvious enough. Although it's clear that my idea of them dead had been discarded.

Right. One thing to remind though. If you have questions, it would be better to contact me through AIM or yahoo messenger - whose screenname can be found in my bio. Second method, is to go straight to my homepage, which is a livejournal, and drop your question in the comment box on the latest post you see. It won't take me forever to notice a new comment. Third, I can always be found at this forum: www . narusaku. com

Otherwise, drop your email address along with your review, so that I can reply back. If you don't, you will never get your answers, I'm afraid.

I'm done crapping. Hope you guys enjoyed the fic, because I can tell you the next one - yes, there's a next one - won't be so sweet. In fact, it's harsher than anything I had done before. I account that to the fact I wasn't feeling particularly nice or kind when I was writing it. I like twisting characters, but I don't twist them _that_ much. But no, it's not completed, and yes, I will get around to it. It stands at 4000 words plus, right now. And I'm nowhere near a conclusion, I tell you...

Feedbacks appreciated.

-Eagle


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